Problems with Spouse Coming Over to Oxford on 9-Month Visa

[Jon Andrew Greig]

Greetings everyone,

So writing this on behalf of a friend who's set to go into the 1-year M.St. in Syriac Studies. He's getting married in August, and he's set to have a 9-month visa to study there. Unfortunately, though, his wife is only allowed to "visit" for 6 months max. Is this normal at all? It seems kind of outrageous, and wanted to see if this has happened to others--or just ideas for how to get around it, if it's possible. Any advice would be greatly appreciated for my friend. Thanks!

[TakeruK]

Does his 9-month study visa (to the UK I guess) allow for dependents? I will be entering the US from Canada on a visa ("J-1") this fall and my wife will be joining me as a dependent on my visa ("J-2"), and she would be allowed to stay for as long as my visa is valid. If she didn't get the dependent visa then she would be limited to whatever the maximum time the US allows Canadians to visit for (6 months sounds about right).

However, when I do a quick google search for UK Study Visas, I find this page about bringing family along the general "Tier 4" student visa: http://www.ukba.home...tudents/family/ -- it seems like you can only do this if your course is 12 months or longer, or if it's a new government approved course of 6 months or longer. I think that "course" in the UK means degree program, if I remember correctly!

It's too bad that courses that go between 6 and 12 months are not included in this! You said the program is 1 year long -- could your friend talk to the school to arrange to get a 12 month visa instead? Alternatively, would his wife be able to apply for her own visa to stay in the UK longer than the normal 6 months max?

Edit: I was curious about this so I looked into what kind of visitor visas are available, and found this page: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/visiting/family/extend/ -- it seems like while the normal visitor visas are 6 months, if you are visiting an academic family member, you can apply for an extension up to 12 months! Not sure if your friends will qualify for this, but worth checking out I think!

Edited June 16, 2012 by TakeruK

[alleykat]

As far as I know, how long a person on Tier-4 Student Visa can stay in the UK depends on the "course end date" indicated on their CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies) statement. And normally, UK Border Agency will issue that person a Visa which expires about 4 months after that date. If your friend's course is 9 month long then he should be granted a 13 month Visa.

[jfalconer]

Hello out there, this is the friend in question. Thank you very much, Jon Andrew, for inquiring on my behalf, and thank you TakeruK and alleykat for your considerate and helpful responses.

To clarify, I'm entering a nine-month taught master's program at Oxford this Michaelmas Term and applying for a Tier Four Student Visa. As TakeruK rightly pointed out, the UK Border Agency would not permit me to bring any dependents including a spouse under a student visa if the program is less than twelve months long.

My fiancée and I are looking into several workarounds including the possibility of a work visa for her. This is the first time I've heard about TakeruK's suggestion for an extension. We will definitely look into it. As for alleykat's comment, I'm not sure if having a thirteen-month visa would change the situation for my future spouse.